This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.

No, I don't use google, or my experience - I just pull a made up answer from my head... (That may not be completely true)
–
Ken RayNov 5 '08 at 20:12

I do that sometime (depends on question. just like this question).
–
shahkalpeshNov 5 '08 at 20:18

1

Personally, this is one of the (many) reasons I'm active on Programmers but not StackOverflow; a good question on Programmers is almost never "solvable" through trivial searching alone.
–
IxrecJul 19 at 10:34

I would like everyone to do the same as this answer. Nothing worse then an incorrect answer gleaned from google without being tested to see if it actually answers the question.
–
bruceatkNov 6 '08 at 18:12

1

incorrect answers tend to get downvoted; this is a self-correcting problem
–
Steven A. LoweDec 10 '08 at 19:46

One day I answered two questions. The first was about something I had recently done at work, and I was able to cut and paste a very small snippet of code that did what the OP was asking. The second was a stupid question that could have been answered in 3 seconds of searching, so I cut and pasted the results of a "perdoc -f" command that answered the question. The first question got me absolutely zero rep and the second got me two badges and a bunch of rep. I was prouder of the first answer, and embarassed by how much rep I got for the second one.

this is down side of reputation system it's absolutely does not represent your knowledge.
–
Ilya Nov 5 '08 at 22:54

happens all the time. One of the first answers I posted on SO was technically correct according to the governing standard API protocol, but the simple, obvious, and wrong answer got way upvoted. The second answer was a flip/sarcastic comment on a stupid question and it got way upvoted. go figure.
–
Steven A. LoweDec 10 '08 at 19:31

I only answer questions if I have some knowledge in the subject (based on the tag) to begin with. I steer clear of questions tagged with subjects that I'm completely ignorant of (like asp.net or ruby). I always try to provide either code or links to support answers to objective questions.

If I can help somebody, I will do that. No matter how trivial the question might look to me, it was probably frustrating enough for the poster to formulate a clear and concise question about (hint ;-) ).

I am also a firm believer of making sure your own questions are answered, even if that means posting your own answer. How many times have you googled for something, found the same question, and a dead end with no answer?

It's not about reputation or your own problems. It is about filling this place with knowledge so that someday, you will able to find the answer to your question without having to ask it.

I think that simple question should not be answered directly rather explained to OP what is the best way to find the answer. I think this will benefit OP much more than the answer itself. If somebody ask what function strcut doing the answer should be google for "man strcut" and not the explanation.
If somebody ask question that not build well from any perspective i will point OP to this nice FAQ, i against voting down questions. I only vote down if i 100% sure that the answer to the question is absolutely incorrect and i will explain why.

If I dont have the answer right out in the head but remember a site where a solution are to a question and have time then I go there and look it up. I then personalize the answer and adding my own input to the solution.

The reasons I do that is that I know that the answer is better handled here and will become more searchable for other to use. I also only do this for questions I have own interrests in.

I would not take a bunch of code and post it here and pretend it was me who come up with it. And if the solution is allready perfectly described anywhere else, I'd rather post a short modified example and then a link to the source. (the answer must be at least so that it is'nt useless if the link stops working)

I do answer from my own experience, and I also realize that I tend to respond to things that of are interest to me, even if I know the answer to something else. For example, I notice that I enjoy participating more in architecture, best practices, and project management type questions more than the cut and dry "How do I do x with y?" questions.

Not to say that I don't read or take value from them, it is just I am not drawn to them like the others.